1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition containing methyl nicotinate for application to a person's skin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vitamin B3 is considered by most to be the major B vitamin required for a healthy existence. Indeed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has assigned Vitamin B3 its highest MAC rating of 20 milligrams per day for an adult. This contrasts with Vitamin B1 (thiamin Hcl.) which the FDA has assigned a rating of 1.5 mg. daily and Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) at 1.7 mg. daily.
Most vitamin formulas supply Vitamin B3 as niacinamide. However, niacinamide does not have the circulatory benefits of niacin, (nicotinic acid) although niacin is converted into niacinamide in the brain to aid its function.
Niacin is found in minute quantities in all living cells. The amide form niacinamide also occurs in plants and animals, generally in enzyme systems. Poor eyesight, bad hearing, senility, loss of memory, dullness of mind, depression, arthritis and, indeed, most heart disease are related to the state of blood circulation in the human body. Niacin dilates the blood vessels and, as researchers have recently discovered, stops the clumping up of red blood cells. Red blood cells acquire a positive charge, which causes them to cling together. This clumping action which impairs circulation occurs because the red blood cell is approximately one microgram in diameter and the small capillaries of the body are of the same diameter. Thus, the blood cell often has to squeeze sideways into the capillary. Therefore, if many red blood cells clump together, these vital carriers of nutrients to some 70 trillion body cells cannot get into the capillaries. Serious damage to the body results as a consequence.
Histamine is an autacoid, a class of hormones which act on tissues of cells in the immediate area of their site of formation. Histamine is stored chiefly in the granule of the tissue mast cells and the blood mast cells. Histamine is alkaline in pH and holds a positive charge. Histamine is opposed in the granule of the mast cells by the acidic mucopolysaccharide, heparin, which has a negative charge.
The introduction of niacin into the blood stream has a significant effect on histamine. Specifically niacin releases histamine from the mast cells. As niacin "pops out" histamine, heparin is also released. Heparin then gives a negative charge to the red blood cells, which reduces the clumping and greatly improves blood circulation. Thus, the red blood cells are able to go freely, in single file, into the tiny capillaries of every part of the body, especially the brain, thereby bringing the necessary nutrients to those areas.
Niacin can be administered orally, whereupon it is converted to niacinamide in the brain. However, there is no circulatory benefit to the amide form of the vitamin. The oral ingestion of niacin in a substantial quantity, say, 30 milligrams or more, however, can result in a rather total body reaction described as "the niacin flush". In this reaction, the body becomes quite warm, especially in the area of the head, and the skin of the whole body becomes quite red. There is attendant itching, if the dosage is large enough. This flush spurs the brain and body to greater activity. However, it can be a very uncomfortable reaction for an hour or so. Timed-release, orally ingested forms of niacin have long been utilized to give the benefits of a milder niacin flush over a prolonged period of time. While many people do use timed-release, orally ingested forms of niacin, others avoid them entirely, fearing the powerful niacin flush.
Another form of Vitamin B-3 is inositol niacinate. This complex is not water soluble but oil soluble. Accordingly, when it is orally ingested, it gives, in moderate doses, only a slow, niacin warmth that can be readily tolerated by most people. Both niacin and inositol niacinate (myo-inositol hexa-3-pyridine-carboxylate) have the power to break up clots of blood like those that occur in phlebitis and to restore circulation. Adequate quantities will also prevent varicose veins and arthritis, Also, clinical studies have shown that good health has been restored to some 85% of schizophrenic patients, with high doses of niacin and Vitamin C, as reported in medical journals.